Steel-car construction.



T. F. BURKE.. ,STEEL GAR' GONSTRUGTION.

n APPLIGATION FILED JULY z3, 1903.

,no mmm.

UNrrnn STATES Patented October 6, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

STEEL-CAR CoNsTRUcTaoN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 740,804, dated October 6, 1903. 'i i .Application filed July 23, 190.5.l Serial No. 166,735. (No model.)

To @LZ whom, it rmty concern:

Beit known that LTHoMAs FRAN-ors BURKE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Newcastle, in the county of Lawrence and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steel-Car Construction, otv which the fol# lowing is a specification,reference being had' therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in steel-car construction, and the invention relates particularly to that class of cars having swinging doors adapted to be opened to permit the discharge of the material from the car; and the object of the present invention is to construct a car of this type with the door at each side thereof, whereby the contents of the ear may be dumped at the sides Aof the track instead of between the rails of the track, as is usually the case.

My. invention has for its further object the construction of `a car of this type which will be simple, strong, durable, and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture; and it resides in the novel construction, combination, and

arrangement vof parts to be hereinafter more fully described, and specifically pointed out in the claims. I

In describing theinvention the same cornprises a car-body frame in which a central sill or beam has inclined braces attached thereto, which act as supports for the'bottorn ot the hoppers, these inclined brace-supports being attached at their outer ends to the angle-bar, which is carried by the side braces of the car-frame. Hinged to the side beams or sills of the car are the doors for closing the openings through which the contents of the l Vcar are adapted to be discharged, and means is provided for normally holding these doors in the closed position.

In describing the invention in detail reference is had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and wherein like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation ofthe car-body constructed in accordance with myinvention, the ends of the car being broken away. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of a ycar-body, the upper portion thereof being broken away. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, the top `plate of the central beam being partly broken away.

Toput my invention into practice, l provide a central longitudinal sill or beam, a

practical form ot'construction of which is to A provide a pair of I-Vbeams l, placed side by side and connected together by a top plate 2 and bottom plate 3. Ialso provide a pair of side sills or beams 4, which may be of channel-beam form, as shown, with the open side o f said sills extendingroutwardly, whereby the side walls 5 of the car-body may be riveted to said side sills or beams at the lower ends of the walls, these Walls being also secu rely riveted to'side bars 6, preferably formed of angle-iron. Securedto the`sills 4 are channel-plates 7, which are provided with doorways 8, that are adapted to be closed by means of the doors 9. These doors are pivotally hung or hinged, the hinges lO being ,connected to the channel-plates 7, and the Vdoors are adapted to swing outwardly when their fastening means is released. This fastening means comprises a lever 1l, to which is pivotally secured the llocking bolt or bar l2. The lever l1 is pivotallyattached to the lug or bracket 14, carried by the door 9, the ends of the lever ll being adapted to be engaged with notched angle-plates or lugs l5 16, secured to the side sills or beams of the car. The angle-plate or lug 15 is provided in the lower edge of its outwardly-extending portion with a notch 17 to receive the lever' 11, and vthe outwardly-extending portion of the plate orlug 16 is provided in its upper edge with a notch 1S, to likewise receive the lever near the opposite end of the latter. Each door carries adjacent its lower edge on vits outer face a keeper `19, which' is adaptedfto receive the locking bolt or bar 12, which also engages in the keeper 20, carried by the angle-bar 21. This angle-bar 2l is a partof the plate 7, and fastened to said anglebar 21 and the side of the I-beams 1 are channel-bars 22, which form a support for the bottoms 23 of the hoppers. Short angles 2l' are secnrely'fastened to the bottom plates of the hopper and the inclined side braces of the car.

It is to be observed that the lever 11 is pivoted past its center-that is, closer to one end ICO than at the other-and when the end of this lever is drawn down out of engagement with the lug l5 the other end of the lever will be moved out of engagement with the lug 16, and the lever in its upward movement at the one end carries therewith bolt or bar 12 out of engagement with the keeper 20, whereby the door is free to swing outward on its hinges to permit the discharge of the contents of the car. It is to be observed Vthat the contents ofthe car Will be discharged at each side thereof, so as to deposit the same at the sides of thetrack instead of between the rails thereof, as is the ordinary manner. The discharging of the material from the vcars between the railsd is objectionable, as oftentimes the material has to be leveled off in order to permit the axles of the trucks or other parts of the train to pass over the same. This is entirely obviated with a car of my construction.

While I have shown and described a practical embodiment of my invention, it will be noted that various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the general spirit ot' the invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In steel-car construction, a central longitudinal sill or beam and channel-bar side sills or beams, channel-plates secured to said side sills or beams and provided with door# ways, inclined supporting-bars attached to the central sill and to the channel-plates, bottoms supported on said inclined bars, doors hinged to said channel-plates, and means for securing said doors in the closed position, substantially as described.

2. In steel-car construction, the combination with a central longitudinal sill or beam and the side sills or beams, of channel-plates secured to said side sills or beams and provided with doorways, supportingbars attached to the central sill and to the channelplates, doors hinged to said channel-plates, and means for securing th'e doors in the closed position, substantially as described.

3. In steel-car construction, the combination with a central longitudinal sill or beam and the side sills or beams, of channel-plates secured to said side sills or beams and provided with doorways, inclined hopper-bottoms secured to the central sill and to the channelplates, vdoors secured to said channel-plates, and means for securing said doors in the closed position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS FRANCIS BURKE.

Witnesses:

JAMES B. KEARNS, MICHAEL BoYLn. 

